Bill Meroy Creek is a small waterway flowing into the Thames to the east of Tilbury Fort in West Tilbury which from 1851 marked the eastern boundary of the area in which duty had to be paid on coal entering London.
[5] Coal sold in the City of London had been taxed since medieval times.
With the coming of the canals and railways, the area in which duty was payable was extended and Bill Meroy Creek defined the eastern end of this area on the north bank of the Thames.
To avoid paying this tax, wharfs were established at a number of places just outside the limits including what came to be known as Coalhouse point.
[6] It was through a breach in the sea wall at Bill Meroy Creek that the flood waters inundated Tilbury Town in 1953.